Lukashenka visits China: Belarus is your long-standing reliable partner, not friend of convenience

Belarus is China’s long-standing reliable partner, not a friend of convenience, president Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at the meeting with First Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China and member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Zhang Gaoli on Wednesday.

“You have many friends now. You have found them not long ago when China became one of the most influential countries in the world, in fact, the second point of attraction for many states on our planet,” Lukashenka noted.

“Belarus and China, however, have long history of relations. Belarus’ contemporary history is connected with the People’s Republic of China. We are not friends of convenience. We are long-standing friends of the Chinese people and we have truly good mutual relations,” the Belarusian leader said.

Lukashenka also reminded of the frequency of meetings between the authorities of the two countries. In his words, it is of high importance for bilateral relations. “The more we meet, the more advanced our relations will be,” the president believes.

According to him, the Belarusian side is absolutely satisfied with the present level of negotiations. “We view ourselves as strategic partners,” he stressed.

In May 2015 Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Belarus. During the visit, Belarus and China signed more than 45 agreements and memoranda of cooperation for $ 3.5 bn. The volume of loans, according to the agreement, is to reach $ 7 bn, including $ 3 bn of preferential loans.

www.belsat.eu/en/, via BelTA